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Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 7, 2009 11:08:15 GMT -5
Three Amigos-1988
I've seen this one before, and it wore off on me quite early back then, as I didn't have a whole lot of patience back when I first saw it and it didn't appeal to me then. Now, while I do have a little more patience when it comes to these films, this one still didn't seem to appeal to me. The three leads are great and definitely have a chemistry together that allows for a certain amount of laughs, but the whole plot doesn't really work for me. It's pretty much a one-note joke that wears thin pretty early and it keeps on going, leaving it feeling quite tiresome in the end. Had the story done something else with it that still fits in well with where it's going, this might be something, but for me, I just don't see it here and is more likely remembered based on casting than anything else.
5/1-\0
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 9, 2009 9:25:20 GMT -5
SHENANDOAH (1965)
A farmer (James Stewart) and his large family living in Shenandoah, Virginia, believe that the Civil War is not their concern and decide to not get involved. Until his youngest boy is mistaken for a soldier and taken prisoner by the North.
Decent movie I'd never seen before, and Jimmy Stewart in pissed off mode is pretty interesting.
7.5/10
TRUE GRIT (1969)
A teenage girl (Kim Darby) hires "Rooster" Cogburn (John Wayne), a tough old marshal, to find the man who murdered her father. They are joined by a Texas Ranger, played by country singer Glen Campbell, who is looking for the same man for a different murder.
One of Wayne's most famous roles, and the one that won him an Oscar. It is fun to watch him play this fairly apathetic character who just cares about the money and a bottle. Unfortunately Campbell isn't nearly as good and it's easy to see why his acting career never really took off.
7.5/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 9, 2009 11:16:49 GMT -5
Bandolero-1968
An outlaw gang, led by two brothers, try to evade a posse of locals who are after them to put them down and out of their misery. This one wasn't that bad and it actually turned out pretty decently, especially considering it was a lot more violent than I thought it would be for the time frame. Made the numerous gunfights a lot more violent, even though because of the stars, the studio and the time frame it still wasn't anywhere near as close to brutal as what the Italians were pumping out during the same period. Kept me interested the whole time, the locations are great-looking and the action level was high, so it surely surprised me.
7/10
No Name on the Bullet-1959
A sheriff tries to keep a town sane when a gunman threatens to kill someone when his demands aren't meant. Man, what a difference a decade makes. Seems a little weird to watch one of these despite their being hardly any violence or action at all, which I know from experience is what happened but it's still a little weird to see one like that. Also manages to run down the time with a lot of non-action moments, and that's another big one, so it's seems a little weird all-around, but it still seemed like a decent enough time, and I'm sure a re-watch down the line might fix some of these problems now that I know what to expect here.
I'll say 5/10 now, but looking forward to the re-watch later on.
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Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 14, 2009 11:21:01 GMT -5
Fort Apache-1948
Well, you knew it had to become involved sooner or later, the viewing of John Wayne films, and since these were two of his best-rated ones (my TV Guide gave them both 4 stars) I figured I'd take the chance. And while I will agree that this was a well-made film, whether it was due to the commercial breaks or the rather lengthy running time originally, I had a hard time getting into this one. The gunfights are nicely staged during huge, full-on attack scenes that are really fun and enjoyable, but the attacks were few and far between for me to stay interested in the rest of it. There's a great story told about humanity and acceptance or something, but I really lost a lot of interest in it when it wasn't about the gunfights, which was my main interest here.
5.5/10, as those gunfights were really good so it does bump this one up.
3 Godfathers-1948
A little bit better than the previous, though not by a whole lot. Seeing this one uncut did give it an advantage, there was a little more gun-fighting and even some brawls or two in here which were pretty enjoyable, but the sentimentality expressed throughout due to the film's rather numerous amount of scenes with the mother aren't that interesting to me. I know a lot of others would be interested in such scenes, but when the rest of the movie was really enjoyable, that kind of stuff just doesn't register with me. I think you guys would get into it a lot more than I would.
6.75/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 15, 2009 0:10:54 GMT -5
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007) Focuses on the last months of the life of famous outlaw, Jesse James (Brad Pitt). From the time he meets Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), a 19-year-old wannabe outlaw who idolizes Jesse, until April 3, 1882, when Ford shoots James in the back. (That's not really a spoiler, right? I mean it's right there in the title.)  Good performances by both actors, but at 160 minutes, it felt like it had a lot of filler to make it more epic. Like it's epically long title. I don't mind long movies at all, but this one seemed to have a little too much down time in-between the good bits. I couldn't help but think about the similarity to the murder of John Lennon. He too was gunned down by someone who idolized him. 7/10 THE OKLAHOMA KID (1939) This one was interesting to me mainly for the cast. It stars James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. Two actors who were known mainly for crime dramas and gangster flicks. But here they put down the tommy guns and carried six-shooters. Cagney is the Good Guy, Jim Kincaid, AKA "The Oklahoma Kid", and Bogart is the Bad Guy, Whip McCord. You know he's the bad guy because in true bad guy fashion, he wears all black, from head to toe. Pretty good, but like I said, for me it was all about the two actors. 6/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 16, 2009 0:37:19 GMT -5
Two westerns by legendary director John Ford.
MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946)
One of several films that tells the story of Wyatt Earp, his brothers, their friend Doc Holliday, and the shootout at the OK Corral with the Clanton gang, in the town of Tombstone, Ariz.
In this version, Henry Fonda is an okay Wyatt Earp, but Victor Mature is a better Holliday. A lot of liberties are taken with the facts, but it's still pretty entertaining.
6.5/10
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962)
James Stewart plays a senator who returns to his hometown for the funeral of an old friend (John Wayne). In flashbacks, he tells the story of how he rose in politics after killing his tormentor, Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), in a showdown.
John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin in the same movie. Pretty awesome.
7/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 16, 2009 11:10:33 GMT -5
The Great Silence-1969
A gunmen helps a barmaid hold off the gang of outlaws who are tormenting her and the rest of her small town. I've seen this one before for the board, and back then, I said: I've long held out the belief that my earlier pick of Django being the best spaghetti western, but I may change it to this one. This was a lot of fun, with devious criminals, questionable heroes, a wonderful excuse to get to the shooting, and one of the most gripping finales ever. Totally didn't see it coming and something that really is plausible and could've happened. With a clever motive to get around the dubbing angle, this just was a lot of fun. Now, a couple years later, that hasn't changed, it's quite possibly one of the best, and is much more common to what I usually watch.
9/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 16, 2009 18:54:50 GMT -5
THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG (1975)
In this one, gambler and confirmed bachelor Russel Donovan (Bill Bixby), finds himself forced to care for three orphaned children. The kids find a large gold nugget and agree to give it to two bumbling outlaws (Don Knotts & Tim Conway).
Typical 70's Disney live-action family fare. Saccharine, kind of dull and, except for a moment or two with Knotts & Conway, not that funny. What is it about Disney that makes most of their animated films so classic, but so many of their live-action films, so lame?
4/10
THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955)
Will Lockhart (James Stewart) shows up in the town of Coronado to deliver supplies to a storekeeper and to search for the person who's been selling rifles to the Apaches. His younger brother, along with several others, was killed in an Apache ambush that was armed with rifles. Before long, Lockhart is tangling with the cattle rancher who pretty much owns the town, as well as his mean-streaked son.
Great scenery, good performances and plenty of action, make this one of the better westerns starring Stewart.
7.5/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 21, 2009 10:42:55 GMT -5
SHANE (1953)
Shane (Alan Ladd), a gunslinger with a mysterious past, finds himself in the middle of a conflict between Ryker, a cattleman who wants all the land in the area, and a family of peaceful settlers. When Ryker realizes that Shane and the farmers won't go peacefully or through intimidation, and that Shane can't be bought, he hires Wilson (Jack Palance), an villainous gunslinger from Cheyenne.
Classic tale of good versus evil. A great and influential movie with archetypal characters that would be copied and imitated in westerns for years to come.
Also includes one of the best barroom brawls of any western, when Shane has to take on all of Ryker's men.
8/10
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960)
Three farmers are sent to buy guns to protect their Mexican village from a gang of bandits who have been terrorizing them. Instead, they end up hiring seven gunmen to teach them to shoot and to defend themselves, as well as to fight alongside the farmers when the bandits return.
Very good Western remake of Kurosawa's classic, THE SEVEN SAMURAI, featuring an amazing cast led by Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Charles Coburn as part of "the seven" and Eli Wallach as the leader of the bandits.
8/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 22, 2009 12:15:54 GMT -5
Shanghai Noon-2000
Easily my favorite of Jackie's non-HK films, as this one was just a real blast all the way through. Tons of gags, lots of humor, some inventive and fun kung-fu battles and a lot of action. With train-robbing, a bar brawl, brothels and a shootout in a church, this certainly feels just like a normal western only with Chan in the middle of it all. Not a lot in here I dislike (it does feel kinda long for a Chan film, which does lower it some since it gets a little dragging towards the second half) but it's still one of his best and one of my favorites.
9/10
Hang 'Em High-1971
An American Spaghetti Western, filled with pretty much the exact same look and feel that made those so entertaining and enjoyable. Despite it being like a plot for a horror film (man thought to have been hung and killed seeks vengeance when the job isn't as done as they figured it was) this still allowed for a rather fun time as there's a lot of shoot-outs, confrontations and brawls to go along, and these are just as much fun as would be expected in such a film. Not exactly sure how they explained why he's able to get away with it (he's known by everyone to be going after them, and they know who, so it's a little iffy as to how that's accomplished) but again, minor point keeping down a fun time.
8.5/10
Death Rides a Horse-1969
Full-on Spaghetti Western where a young gun takes up sides with an aging gunslinger to go after the land baron who killed his family. Been there, done that tons of times in the genre, so it feels really repetitive amongst the crowd, and with it being so long because of the storyline where he learns how to better ply his trade, but when it gets to the main action, there's really nothing that holds this down. The final confrontation is a lot of fun, as it's a modern-day action film style of two people heavily out-gunned mowing down a fortress filled with villains despite not getting hurt, or just slightly, and the length makes it that much fun. Fix the length issues and this would've been a lot better.
8/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 23, 2009 9:25:20 GMT -5
PALE RIDER (1985)
Clint Eastwood plays a mysterious character known only as "Preacher" who suddenly shows up to aid the miners of a gold mining camp. They are being threatened by a greedy landowner intent on stealing their claims. Unfortunately for the landowner and his gang, the preacher is seemingly unstoppable and almost otherworldly. So they hire a marshal and his deputies to "persuade" the miners and to get rid of the preacher if he gets in the way. Turns out the marshal and the preacher have a shared past too.
Pretty good story and action, but it really is almost an unofficial remake, some would say ripoff, of SHANE, as it follows many of the same story beats. Having just watched SHANE a few days before, the similarities were very apparent to me. It even borrows from SHANE's classic ending.
If it was more original I would probably rate it higher as it is well-made and I liked the Preacher character.
7/10
HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962)
One of those old-fashioned epics with "a cast of thousands". Covers several decades in the lives of the Prescott family. The parents and their young daughters migrate via the Erie Canal, along the way and over the years, various members encounter river pirates and fur trappers, ride wagon trains to California, become farmers, participate in the Civil War, help build the railroads and finally bring law and justice to the frontier.
The film credits three different directors (John Ford, Henry Hathaway and George Marshall) who each tackled different segments of the almost three-hour epic, and the cast is a who's who of A-list actors from that time period, including James Stewart, Debbie Reynolds, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Henry Fonda, Karl Malden, John Wayne and Richard Widmark, among many others. Wayne is really just a glorified cameo though.
However, the story is not great throughout, and it's more about the cinematography, the landscapes, and the fun of seeing such big stars parade across the screen, some for only a scene or two. The opening and ending segments are very good, but I was a little bored during the middle.
More style than substance.
6/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 26, 2009 15:26:58 GMT -5
SILVERADO (1985)
Two brothers, Emmett (Scott Glenn) and Jake (Kevin Costner), Mal the butcher (Danny Glover) and Paden (Kevin Kline), a former gunslinger trying to go straight, team up, each for their own reasons, to take on Cobb (Brian Dennehy) the likable, but crooked sheriff of the 1880's New Mexico town, Silverado.
Co-stars include Jeff Goldblum, Linda Hunt, John Cleese and Rosanna Arquette. The whole cast is top rate with only Arquette failing to really shine in kind of a "blah" role. The chemistry between Kline and Hunt as a sweet saloon manager is really believable, and Costner is hilarious as a goofy, happy-go-lucky cowboy who happens to be an expert with guns and horses.
A fun, action-packed, wild west shoot 'em up filled with colorful characters and witty dialogue. The style and energy make the whole film feel like an Indiana Jones movie set in the Old West, which is appropriate considering writer/director Lawrence Kasdan wrote the script for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK as well.
A modern classic and the best Western of the Eighties, IMHO.
8.5/10
3 GODFATHERS (1948)
Christmas-themed western about three outlaws (John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz and Harry Carey Jr.) who go on the run after robbing a bank. While making their way across the desert, they discover a dying pregnant woman in a covered wagon. They deliver the baby and before she dies they swear to her to protect the infant and bring it to safety. The whole time they are learning the ins-and-outs of caring for a newborn, kind of the original THREE MEN AND A BABY, they are also evading the sheriff and his posse.
Some nice comic touches, mixed with traditional Western elements and a religious allegory, made for a different viewing experience and a different type of Western offering from director John Ford and his frequent star John Wayne.
6.5/10
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 28, 2009 9:10:18 GMT -5
TOMBSTONE (1993)
Former lawman Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliott) and Morgan (Bill Paxton), decide to settle in the town of Tombstone with their wives. There they run into their old friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), a charismatic gunslinger and gambler who is suffering from tuberculosis.
They try to live quiet lives, but soon run afoul of The Cowboys, a band of outlaws led by "Curly Bill" Broscius (Powers Boothe) and the Clanton brothers. All of this eventually leads to the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
A fast-paced shoot-'em-up retelling of the Earp legend featuring a cast that besides the main stars, includes everyone from Michael Biehn, Dana Delaney and Thomas Haden Church to Charlton Heston, Billy Bob Thornton and Billy Zane. Lots of random violence and shoot-outs, a great cast, and Kilmer in an amazing scene-stealing performance as Holliday, make this one of the best Westerns of the Nineties.
9/10
EL DORADO (1966)
A gunfighter for hire (John Wayne), his old friend, an alcoholic sheriff (Robert Mitchum), his deputy (Arthur Hunnicutt), and a young gambler (James Caan), join forces to help a rancher (R.G. Armstrong) and his family fight a rival rancher (Ed Asner) that is trying to steal their water.
Great fun to watch two legends like Wayne and Mitchum sharing the screen with young up-and-comer James Caan. Some good confrontations and shoot-outs and Mitchum is as good in his falling down drunk scenes as he is sober.
7/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 28, 2009 12:36:09 GMT -5
The Undefeated-1969
Probably one of the better John Wayne epics, this one concerns him as a Union officer who helps a rancher herding his cattle along the path of a vicious rebel who stops at nothing to destroy all enter his territory. Certainly very interesting at times, even though there's still the occasional lull in the storyline to help out and give this one some story and depth to it, since there is a somewhat intriguing story at work in here, and is mixed in liberally enough with the action that it does have some weight to it, but again, I really only stayed for the action and it felt enjoyable enough when that was the goal of the film. Not really terrible, and actually quite good.
8/10
North to Alaska-1963
As this one was my grandfather's favorite movie before he passed away, I saw this one quite a few times in my life, and the thing of it is that, while it's a very good story and certainly manages to never cross over into dullness, I really only can get into the giant mud-brawl at the end, since that there manages to contain most of the film's action scenes. Considering the length, that's not exactly endearing, and while I want to like this one more, I just can't bring myself to do it.
6.5/10
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Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 30, 2009 11:48:28 GMT -5
Riders in the Sky-1949
A singing cowboy helps out a friend wrongly accused of murder. If you didn't know from that line, this was a Gene Autry film, and like a John Wayne or a Clint Eastwood film, I had to get one of his in for the month. Not the usual kind of Western I've seen (no real gunfights or action to speak of, and they rarely draw their guns at all) and with it being so short, it doesn't have an opportunity to do so. The songs aren't bad and don't really get in the way of the story, but again, with their not being so much running time to do anything, not a lot happens even though you're not really bored. I have a feeling he's got a lot better ones out there, I just haven't seen them yet.
6/10
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